Phantasma
by Reina-183
Summary: LeonRiku.Post KH2. In a reality that's like a dream, can two young men bound by circumstance save Sora, and themselves?
1. Radiant Gardens

-1Leon hissed as one of the luckier heartless managed to slash his arm badly enough to rip the leather and cut into his skin. Leon retreated to a part of the castle free of the heartless, clutching his arm.

"Squall!" Yuffie called, and Leon suddenly felt the familiar cooling sensation of a Curaga spell. Leon nodded his thanks to the younger warrior before racing back into the group of Neoshadows and Red Nocturns.

"Blizzaga!" He shouted, his mouth a thin line as one of the Nocturns dissipated. Slashing his sword into a group of Neoshadow, he caught one in the middle, it's soundless scream echoing in his ears as it disintegrated into darkness, it's heart floating from the carcass before it too disappeared. Beside him, Cloud swung his giant sword, easily eliminating three heartless.

Leon lifted his arm to his forehead, using a spell he hadn't summoned in years. "Ultima!"

The large, blackish ball surged over the heartless, looking very similar too a gravija spell, and the heartless instantly burst into darkness, clearing the room.

"Nice work," the blonde, sword wielding man spoke softly, hefting his large sword over his shoulder as he walked forward.

"Yeah, nice one Squall," Yuffie called back, skipping into the dark halls ahead.

"That's Leon," the gunblader muttered angrily, holding his gun blade out before him and following the two other warriors into the dark space ahead of them.

Ever since Sora left, Leon and the others had been reading over Ansem's research, with the help of Tron. Suddenly, around midnight, they had lost contact with the mechanical mainframe, along with Aeris, Tifa, and Cid, who were in the study, practically defenseless if a large group of heartless attacked. Apparently, Leon thought, as he slashed through a stray heartless that Yuffie and Cloud had missed, that was exactly what happened.

Leon picked up his pace, determined not to let his share of the work fall to Yuffie and Cloud. That would be cowardly and prove that Leon wasn't fit to lead the Radiant Garden reconstruction committee. Leon stopped as he reached a turn, quickly going right and heading into a familiar circular room. He grimaced as Xenahort's picture glared at him through the suffocating darkness, hurrying through.

"Tifa! Cid! Aeris!" He heard Yuffie screaming, and he broke into a full run into Tron's room. The lab was empty of Heartless, but Tifa was clutching a badly bleeding arm and Cid's leg was bent at an unnatural angle, a shallow scratch across his chest.

Aeris appeared to be sleeping, but the small pool of blood surrounding her head suggested otherwise.

Cloud and Yuffie appeared to be handling their injured comrades fine, so Leon rushed over to the computer, pressing the power button. Nothing happened.

"Shit!" Leon pounded on the buttons, not caring what he pressed as long as it brought Tron back. Besides being one of their leading researchers, Tron had also become one of the team, a friend almost. To lose Tron would be almost as bad as loosing one of his living companions.

Leon watched as Cloud dropped his buster sword, lifting Aeris into his arms. Yuffie supported a grumbling Cid, giggling and poking him in the stomach, and, freshly healed, Tifa was able to support herself, though she looked fairly weak from blood loss.

Cloud and Leon exchanged a glance and Leon nodded, taking up the lead with his gun blade held in front of them. With Cloud holding Aeris, Yuffie supporting Cid, and Tifa drained of energy, he knew he was their only means of defense.

Leon walked slowly through the maze like passages, the only sound the sound of their breathing echoing down the halls.

Suddenly, there was a flash of silver, and instinctively, Leon brought the glowing Lionhart up in front of him.

_CLANG!_

The glow of his gun blade illuminated the other figure in the darkness, exposing his startling silver hair and bright green eyes. Leon put all of his weight behind his blade, pushing forward. His opponent stumbled backwards, a frown marring his handsome features.

Leon charged after him, catching the underside of his dark blade and flinging it from it's wielder's hands. Leon changed the direction of his blade, slashing downward diagonally, the sharp clang of metal on metal as his opponent summoned his weapon back into his hand and blocked the speedy attack. Leon pushed forward on his blade, driving his opponent back. He could see the silver haired one's arms shaking under the strain of maintaining the weapon lock, and Leon knew it wouldn't be long until the younger, more inexperienced swordsman gave in.

Instead, the boy caught him by surprise, pulling away and allowing Leon's momentum to carry him forward, the boy dropped to the ground, and rolling away from Leon's strong attack, he kicked Leon's feet out from under him.

Leon held an arm out, flipping over it to stop himself from falling and landing on his feet gracefully. His opponent's eyes widened, but with a grunt he leapt nimbly to his feet, only stumbling slightly.

Leon charged again, knocking the blade from his hand with enough force to send the boy to hi knees. Before he could summon the weapon to his side, Leon swung his gun blade, pointing it directly at the boy's neck.

Leon watched the panting boy as he stared up at Leon with defiant eyes. Behind him, the stranger's blade landed against the hard stone floor with a loud, echoing clang.

"Who are you?" Leon asked, watching the boy carefully. The boy lifted his head, bringing his head closer to the blade, until a small amount of blood dripped down from a cut he had caused.

"You people destroyed my home, kidnapped Sora, and hurt Kairi and you have the audacity to ask me my name." The young man hissed, glaring up at Leon with desperate yet determined eyes. Leon could see the spirit in those eyes, along with the confidence.

He had to be lying! No one could kidnap Sora, the brat had grown a lot stronger. What would he be, sixteen now? Then again, Sora had grown a lot weaker after his year long coma, and just as he had regained his strength, he had returned home, where there were no bad guys to fight.

"That blade, it's a keyblade!" Yuffie shouted, pointing at it in shock. If that was a keyblade, than was this boy the friend Sora had been searching for? What was his name, Riku?

Leon carefully withdrew his blade, kneeling next to the tired boy. "We're friends of Sora and Kairi," Leon said, hooking his gun blade through his belt loop and putting both his hands where the younger one could see him.

"You're just trying to trick me!" Riku yelled, leaping to his feet and running towards his keyblade. Leon grabbed the boy by the arm, pushing him to the ground and pinning him there.

"Riku, listen to me!" He yelled, absentmindedly using the name Sora had told him.

"You know my name! Before, you were asking! You're trying to get me on your side to make me hurt Sora and Kairi! I won't do it! Never again!" Leon held the struggling boy down, his heart wrenching when he remembered what the silver haired boy was talking about.

He could remember Sora coming back to him, practically in tears about how Riku had betrayed him and Kairi, and how he wanted to kill Sora.

"Calm down Riku," a sweet, soothing voice said, and Riku calmed slowly, looking up at Aeris as she climbed out of Cloud's arms, unsteadily making her way towards Riku.

"We won't hurt you, I promise," she told him, staring at Leon, a silent message in her eyes. Leon slid off the younger teen, tensed to lunge if he tried to attack Aeris.

"That's what everyone says," Riku muttered, looking up at Aeris with glowing green eyes.

"Look at us, Riku. We're hurt, just like you. The heartless hurt us to. They took away a lot of people we loved, just like they did for you." Aeris reached forward, tangling a hand in Riku's mussed silver hair.

Riku looked around, taking in Cid's leg and blood stained shirt, Tifa's weariness, and Cloud's missing weapon.

"You were the people with Sora when I came to Traverse Town, weren't you?" Riku asked, his eyes widening. Aeris nodded, stroking the boy's hair.

"The heartless just came," Riku explained. "Before we could do anything, the islands were covered in them. There were too many. People were screaming as the heartless just killed them. Sora, Kairi, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and I managed to get to the play island…" He trailed off, looking up at Aeris.

"Go on," she encouraged.

"They were waiting," he continued.

"Who?" Aeris asked, her voice tinged with concerned.

"Nobodies. Dusks, and the people. They were waiting for us, and we were out numbered. Then one of them shot a dart full of something at Sora, and Kairi ran in front of him. It hit her in the chest and she fell to the ground like a rag doll. Sora thought she was dead, and he lunged at them, and they caught him in a cage. All I remember after that is grabbing Kairi and summoning a path, and then we ended up here."

A tear slipped from Riku's eyes, followed by another one, before they increased in number, falling down his cheeks and landing on the stone floor, each drop making a small splash and dieing the floor a slightly darker color.

"And where's Kairi?" Aeris asked. Riku lifted a shaky arm and pointed around the corner. Leaving Cid leaning against the wall, Yuffie raced around the corner, coming back carrying an unconscious teenage girl with red hair. Her skin was so pale it almost glowed in the darkness, and she was shivering uncontrollably, a yellow, sleeveless jacket wrapped around her shoulders.

"We need to get back to Merlin's," Cloud spoke quietly, stepping past the rest of them. He gently helped Cid, wrapping an arm around the older man's waist and helping him to limp along.

"Come on Riku, let's go," Aeris stood, stumbling, only for Tifa to catch her. "Take it easy," she whispered to her friend, helping the woman in a similar fashion to Cloud.

"Can you walk?" Leon asked the boy, pressing his hands into his thighs and pushing himself to his feet.

"Yeah," Riku muttered, stumbling to his feet. To the boy's credit, he made it a few feet before his eyes closed and his legs gave out. Leon caught the younger male, scooping him up into his arms.

He used to think that everyone had to take care of themselves, but spending time around other people showed him that people depend on other people survive. Riku wouldn't be able to manage on his own now, so Leon would support him, just like Yuffie and the others had supported him.

The walk back to Merlin's was silent, each person focusing the entirety of their energy to looking for heartless. It seemed that the monsters had retreated for the time being, so the trip to Merlin's house was fairly uneventful. By the time Leon had gotten through the door, Yuffie was already placing Kairi on Merlin's bed and wrapping the thick covers around her.

"There's no room for him here," Tifa spoke, motioning to the exhausted boy in Leon's arms. Leon nodded, sighing. Each member of the Restoration Committee had their own rooms at a house in the center of town.

Leon nodded, shifting the boy in his arms.

"What's wrong with the girl?" He asked, staring at Kairi. Her eyes, were open, but they had turned golden, the exact shade of heartless eyes.

"It appears to be a poison," Merlin explained, leaning over the girl. "It seemed they meant to infect Sora with some sort of concentrated essence, but it hit Kairi instead. Obviously, it's not fatal if they needed Sora alive, but this is troublesome. I'll have to consult my books." Merlin wandered away, and Leon looked from the shivering girl lying down on the bed to the sleeping young man in his arms.

"I guess he'll have to spend the night with me," Leon told the others, heading out the door, and walking down the path that led to the downtown.

"Uhhh, did anyone get the license plate number of that truck?" Riku asked, his voice hoarse. Leon almost grinned at the boy's analogy, before the boy brought a hand up to his face, falling out of Leon's arms and toppling down onto the cobblestone street.

Leon hurriedly pulled Riku's face out of his hair, grimacing as the boy emptied his stomach. Suddenly, Riku looked up at him, and Leon let go of his hair, backing away in shock.

Riku's eyes were a pure golden color.

"Fuck," Leon cursed, as heartless popped into existence around them.

His hand traveled to his hip, only to find the Lionhart missing. "Looking for this," a laughing voice whispered, and Leon looked up sharply, only to find a hooded figure standing in front of him.

Leon grabbed Riku, pulling the boy behind him. The kid was trembling in his grasp, his eyes wide and the pupils contracted to a pinpoint.

"Give me the kid and I'll let you live," the girl promised, her voice oddly familiar.

"No don't!" A voice shouted, and Yuna, Rikku, and Paine flew in front of him, separating him from the hooded woman.

"Run!" Rikku shouted, before something shot out from the hooded figure's arm, hitting the blonde pixie in the stomach and slamming her into a wall.

"Urghh," the little thief moaned, falling unconscious.

Paine and Yuna gasped, lunging at the woman. She raised her arms to ward off the angry pixies, and Paine grabbed the large gun blade, swinging it in Leon's direction. Leon caught it in a surprised hand, watching as the woman struck Paine with a delicate, long fingered, hand, sending her into the wall besides Rikku.

"I don't feel so hot," the boy behind him whispered, and Leon averted his gaze from the hooded figure for a split second, catching the red hot blush that had spread over Riku's features. The boy's trembling increased, until he could barely hold himself up, sagging against Leon.

"What have you done?" Leon asked.

"Nothing we can't undo, if you give us the dark child," the woman replied. Leon summoned a blizzaga spell, glaring at the woman.

"I see you won't take the easy path then," she whispered, lifting her arm.

"That's one of them," Riku whispered from behind him, his arms, wrapping around Leon, holding him close. Leon could feel the heat radiating from Riku's skin.

"We have to run," he continued, and before Leon could stop the sick younger boy, strands of silky cool darkness appeared around them, a portal.

Then everything went black, as the two of them left Radiant Gardens, heading in a direction unknown to anyone.


	2. Disney Kingdom

A few notes: Here are some of the worlds I'm planning on using: Pirates of the Caribben, Snow White, Hunchback of Notre dame, Halloween Town, & Lion King. Thanks to Lapse-Raevn and Uzimaki-sama for the suggestions. If anybody knows anywhere else they should go, just drop me a hint.

Also, I know tarantulas can't bite humans, but this way was freakier.

1111111111

_Riku leaned against the side of the school, waiting for Selphie. The hyperacitve girl was retaking an algebra test.  
_

"_Riku!" A voice called, and Riku smiled as Selphie bounded towards him, her face lit up in a huge, immature smile._

"_Hey Selph," Riku ruffled her hair affectionately. He liked Selphie. Her innocence reminded him of one of the reasons he had come back to the island in the first place. _

"_Oh yeah!" Selphie spoke quickly. "Everyone's over at Sora's house, and they told me to tell you!" _

_Riku ran a hand through his hair, sighing. He knew that things wouldn't be the same after what had happened, but Sora had grown distant, especially lately. Riku had a feeling that it was because he missed the adventure of the other worlds, as well as his friends, Goofy and Donald._

_Riku understood how he felt. Sometimes he just wanted to leave everything behind. Nothing ever changed here._

_Riku absentmindedly followed Selphie down a path he had walked thousands of times before. Sora's house was as familiar to him as the back of his hand._

_The small, two story house rose in front of them, their small play island in the background._

"_Sora!" Selphie called, and grinned as the cinnamon haired boy leaned out his window, a broad smile that didn't quite reach his eyes plastered on his face._

"_Come on in!" Sora called down, waving at them. Riku stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking up the sandy path to Sora's front door._

_Sora's house wasn't too large, but it radiated with coziness and it always gave Riku a sense of belonging. It just felt as if nothing could go wrong in this place...  
_

"_What are those _things_!" Riku turned, his heart pounding as his eyes refused to believe the evidence set in front of him. It couldn't be… Not here… Not this haven, not again. _

"_Selphie!" And then Sora leapt out of the window, stumbling slightly as he landed on his feet. Sora would never admit it, but Riku knew the younger boy was considerably out of shape. Riku and Sora didn't fight each other anymore, it brought back too many painful memories, and Sora didn't have any other challenges._

_Riku was snapped out of his thoughts as one of the heartless leapt at the sunny girl in the yellow dress, and before he had even realized what he was doing, his keyblade had appeared in his hands. _

_Riku bit his lip as he stepped in front of Selphie, slicing the Heartless in half. Despite the number of times this blade had saved his life, he had never, ever wanted to pull it out again._

_But life is never really about what you want._

Riku's eyes popped open as he lay atop the fluffy bed. The sun shone in through foggy windows, casting a homey look over the house. Wait, hadn't he just been in Hallow Bastion at night?

"Where am I?" Riku asked, sitting up suddenly. He instantly regretted it as the food left in his hallowed stomach rose into his throat, leaving a sour taste in it's wake.

"Shhh… It's okay," soothing, warm hands rubbed circles on his back, gently pushing him back onto the bed. Riku obeyed almost instantly, allowing his eyes to flutter close under the gently ministrations. His head ached, and his arms and legs felt like lead pipes. Where was Sora? Where was Kairi? Lost in his lethargic thoughts, Riku whimpered, biting his bottom lip. Soon, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next time Riku joined the conscious world, it was late evening, and the sounds of other people resounded through the house, causing his head to ache, but soothing him at the same time. After being alone for so long, Riku hated solitude.

"How're you feeling, Riku?" The same kind voice from before asked, and Riku glanced up into the face of none other than Queen Minnie. But didn't she live at the castle, and wasn't he at Hallow Bastion?

"What? How?" Riku asked, startled into a vague awareness. Where was he?

"Shhh… You're still tired. Why don't you try to get some more sleep?" The queen suggested, gently pushing Riku back into bed. Riku weakly fought against her, his worries overcoming the weakness of his body.

"Sora… Kairi…" Riku groaned, sinking into the comfortable bed sheets.

"Kairi's at Radiant Gardens, and as for Sora…" Minnie shook her head, a sad frown on her face. Riku felt tears burning the back of his eyes as his throat grew dry and achy. Sora was somewhere unsafe. He could be hurt or dead. He might be suffering, and Riku could do nothing to help him. He could do nothing to save his best friend, when the other boy had pulled him back up countless times.

"We just don't know," she finished averting her eyes. Riku frowned at her, the evening light casting dark lines on his face and making him look as old as his hair suggested. Deep black circles had formed under his eyes, contrasting with his deathly pale skin. For a moment, it scared her, that he looked so old, and tired.

Riku's arms ached in pain as he pushed himself to his feet, his mind compensating for the strength his body just didn't seem to have. Riku's legs shook beneath him, and he collapsed quickly, feeling like a baby trying to take his first steps.

"Riku, you shouldn't be up!" Queen Minnie's voice echoed in the back of his head, but he didn't really hear her.

Riku pressed his cheek into the cool marble floors, ignoring the aches of protest his body gave. Kairi, and Sora were gone, someplace where he couldn't reach them and where he couldn't help them.

Riku pushed himself to his feet, grimacing at the bruises on his arms, and his aching muscles.

"What are you doing? You stupid boy, obey Queen Minnie when she talks to you!" Riku instantly recognized the high pitched, nasally voice. Donald had apparently come back to his home world.

Riku sneered at the thought. If they were such good friends of Sora's, then why weren't they looking for him?

"Oh no, that's okay," Minnie replied humbly, and Riku heard her light steps as she stood beside him.

"Where's the King?" Riku asked, closing his eyes. Mickey would help him get Sora back, and the King would probably already have an antidote for Kairi.

"He left when Leon appeared here with you. He said something about having to see a man. He also told me that you shouldn't be here, and that he wouldn't let the children pay for a mistake that he made a long time ago."

Riku's mind spun with the new information. Who was Mickey going to see? Why shouldn't he be here? What mistakes had been made, and more importantly, where was Sora?

"I have to go," Riku explained, rising shakily to his feet. This time his limbs supported him, though barely.

Riku didn't care if he didn't know what was going on. All he needed was to have Sora and Kairi back at his side.

"Where?" A deep, masculine voice asked him. Riku looked up to see the scarred man from last night standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his broad chest and his eyes closed.

Even from his position over a yard away, Riku could tell that the man was taller than him, with long, muscular legs and an aura of frigid cold that surrounded him.

"I have to find Sora," Riku stated, his anger rising. Did the man seriously expect him to stay here and do nothing when his friends were in danger?

"And how do you plan to get there?" The warrior asked.

"Anyway possible," Riku replied, his tone cold and biting. Riku shrugged past the man, brought to a halt as the older brunet opened his eyes.

The man's eyes were steel gray, with the slightest hint of blue. The stared at Riku with blinding intensity, and the younger boy gulped, remembering that this was a man who had beat him before, and could beat him again. If he didn't want Riku getting past, Riku wasn't getting past.

Still, despite his shaky limbs and foggy mind, Riku held his ground.

"Nothing will stop me from helping my friends," Riku stated, gazing up at the man with bright green eyes.

At the older man's appraising gaze, Riku felt like a little kid who just asked for more candy. That gaze took in the black rings that Riku knew were beneath his eyes, the torn black shirt and the ragged blue jeans, but the brunet said nothing.

"Whatever," the gunblader replied, running a hand through his hair before he gracefully stepped out of the way.

Without looking back, Riku walked through the doorway, glaring at the daunting halls and stairs. Hadn't these people ever heard of elevators?

Riku dragged himself down the hall, each step feeling like a mile long run. If he could make it to a hanger, then he could just grab a gummy ship and he'd be out of here.

And yet, something he once considered so simple seemed impossible to Riku.

His legs felt as if they were made out of pure rock, they were so heavy. His depth perception was off, and he tripped over his own foot, cursing his clumsiness. The room he had walked out of was no out of sight, hidden around a bend in the hall. Somehow, that fact drained Riku of energy.

Riku's eyes closed slowly, the irises narrowing into thin green strips before they disappeared beneath porcelain eye lids and ebony eyelashes. Riku took another step forward before a numbness swallowed his body, hundreds of thousands of needles prickling every inch of his skin.

Riku fell forward, only to be caught by thin, bruising hands. The grip on him was crushing his torso, and Riku could feel his ribs creaking under the enormous strain. Slowly, he looked up, expecting to see anyone but the person there.

"Dad," Riku asked, struggling to pull away. His father was dead. His father was one of the people who had died when the island was swallowed by darkness. His death was Riku's fault. He had been killed by his own son's ignorance.

But now, with a hood covering his thinning gray hair and a long black cape on, he looked nothing like the man Riku called father. The only similarity Riku could see was in the man's cold green eyes. How many times had he looked at someone with those eyes?

"You have your father's eyes," they used to tell him.

"You killed me," he told his son, shaking the weak boy slightly. Riku blinked slowly, watching his reflection in eyes so startlingly similar to his own.

"I'm sorry dad," Riku stated, his voice low.

"You killed me," his father repeated, a disgusted grimace appearing on his face. His cold green eyes searched Riku, the pupils slit, like a cat.

Riku's eyes had never looked quite like that.

"I'm sorry dad," Riku spoke automatically, as if he were being grounded for spending too much time on the play island.

"You killed me," his father's face pulled into a grin, "and it's time I returned the favor."

At his words, Riku felt something touching his legs, breaking through the numbing barrier of pins and needles. It felt as if something were crawling over him.

Riku looked down, watching as the first, large, hairy tarantula crawled up his leg, followed by its minions, an army of the large arachnids. Riku's eyes widened in pure horror. His legs were still numb. He couldn't even kick the eight legged monsters off.

Turning back to his old man, Riku nearly screamed at the horrendous smile.

"Let go of me!" Riku screamed, pushing his dad away, but his father's grip was like stone. The first spider had reached his knee, and Riku screamed in terror. Only his father and Sora had ever known of his terrible arachnophobia. Riku feared spiders more than he'd ever admit. They were the only things that could cause him to lose his infamous confidence.

"Let me go!" Riku screamed, pushing against his father even harder as his struggles increased. The spider had reached the bottom of his black shirt, and through the thin fabric Riku could almost feel its disgusting limbs crawling up him.

The spider was reaching for him. It was going to kill him and drink his blood, leaving his rotted skeleton blue and black and wrinkled, like a human sized raisin.

"Let go of me!" Riku screamed, a tear falling from his face as the spider reached his neck, hundreds of others covering his arms and legs, their hairy, disgusting bodies covering him, suffocating him.

"Let Go Of Me!" Riku screamed as the tarantula buried surprisingly sharp fangs into his neck, pushing a lethal poison through his body via his jugular vein.

The spider looked up at him with eight pitch black eyes that suddenly reflected Sora in their midst. Riku stilled. Sora was smiling. He was dying and Sora was smiling and the man who he was supposed to admire and look up to was killing him.

"LET GO OF ME!"

Riku suddenly fell onto his back, and he stared up into cold gray eyes, expecting to see green. No, where was his father? Where were the spiders? Where was Sora?

Riku brought a hand up to his neck, shaking violently. There was no raised or injured skin. There was no sting. There was no bite. There was no danger.

"Where am I?" Riku asked, glaring at the brunet. Where was he indeed? Was this all some sort of sick dream? Would he wake up only to find that Sora was okay?

"You're at the castle," the man answered, his brow wrinkling as a deep frown marred his features.

"I knew that," Riku replied, getting shakily to his feet. The older man watched him like a hawk, as if he expected the teenager to keel over any moment. Riku frowned. He wasn't someone delicate who needed to be protected. He could protect himself.

_Just like you could protect Sora and Kairi, right?_

Riku turned suddenly, loosing his balance and falling backwards into the brunet, who caught him easily, already expecting it. That voice, it sounded like his father. It sounded like his dead, rotting father.

"I can do anything," Riku spoke, his voice desperate with tired determination. He could do anything he put his mind to. He would do anything to save Sora and Kairi. He already knew this.

But, he wasn't sure if he was telling his father or himself.

Riku suddenly leaned back into the older man's embrace, going limp. He was lying to himself. He couldn't protect himself, or anyone else.

That was Sora's job. That's why Riku sided with Maleficent and Ansem and had to be dragged back home by Sora.

He wanted to give up so badly. He wasn't the hero. He was the villain who everyone liked, who was pitied and given a second and third chance to prove himself, only to be outdone by Sora over and over again.

"That's right Riku. You're just as bad as Xenmas. You're not worth anything. All you are is a jealous shell."

The other man suddenly tightened his grip on Riku, glaring at the other woman. Riku could feel a powerful spell building up somewhere behind him.

"You're just jealous of Sora, because you could never be half the person he is."

_But there's one thing I have that you can never imitate._

_What's that?_

_A friend like you._

"And that's why he'll die if you don't help us. Come with me, Riku." The woman held out a gloved hand, the dim light making in shine.

Riku remembered once, he had held out a hand to Sora, and Sora had never taken it. Because Sora knew that if he took Riku's hand, Riku would never wake up from the day dream he was living. The day dream where the world was falling apart around him but he was untouched, okay, uncaring.

"Go to Hell," Riku spat, brushing the older man off and standing, albeit rather shakily.

The woman retracted her hand, a familiar darkness reaching for Riku and the man behind him.

"I was hoping you would say that," she replied, and Riku could almost see a smirk on her hooded face.

"It's much more fun when they struggle," she hissed, vanishing into a puff of black smoke.

"Run," the gun blade wielder hissed, as the darkness she left behind approached them.

"Riku! Leon!" A high pitched, squeaky voice called to them. The two young men turned, glancing at the mouse running towards them.

"Your majesty," Riku called, temporarily forgetting the darkness closing in on them. It was the King. He could help them.

"Take this," Mickey called, tossing them a paper rolled into a glass bottle. Riku caught it and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans, turning to run, only to bash his head against the man's- Leon's?- shoulder.

"We're surrounded," Leon stated, his voice dead calm.

Riku looked around, and indeed, they were incased in a circle of darkness.

"Crap," Riku muttered, his eyes trailing around until they met King Mickey's. The mouse seemed to be held outside by some sort of protective barrier, stopping him from falling into the suffocating darkness that was quickly closing in on them.

"Riku!" He called. "The person behind this, it's--"

Riku's eyes widened, and he ran for the mouse as the darkness swept over them, closing them off from the world outside.

"No!" Riku exclaimed, reaching for the king. Instead, all he could see was the dark purple of wherever they were.

Then he heard it. It sounded like thousands of tiny legs scampering across the flat ground.

Riku turned, ignoring Leon as his lip curled backwards in disgust.

It couldn't be…

No one knew besides Sora and his dad. Sora would never tell, and his dad was dead. Dead men tell no tales.

In front of them, tarantulas, all at least three feet tall, glared at him with eight beady eyes apiece, and Riku gulped his dream appearing in his mind. The spider, sinking it's teeth into Riku's neck.

"I've never seen Heartless quite like these," Leon muttered. Riku nodded, biting his lip. That's all these things were, heartless. He could kill a heartless easily, right?

Riku backed away from the heartless, holding out a shaky hand. "Dark Aura," he shouted, growling as the tarantulas surrounded him.

The bright balls of energy collided with the closest monsters, squashing them and smearing their red blood over the dark ground.

Riku's eyes widened. Heartless didn't bleed. Stolen hearts pumped no blood. Those things… Those things were really spiders!

The remaining spiders hissed at him, and Riku took a step backwards. One leapt at him, and Riku automatically summoned his keyblade, impaling the creature inches before it's fangs could puncture his neck.

The spider's blood dripped down his arms warm and slippery, a small amount spraying into his face and hair. The dead creature's legs brushed his bear arms, sending shivers spiraling through his spine. Riku's aches disappeared as adrenaline pumped through his body, keeping him conscious.

Riku forced the keyblade to disappear, allowing the spider to drop onto the ground, it's beady black eyes staring at him.

"Blizzaga," a cold voice whispered, and the spiders around him immediately froze, staring at Riku.

They kept staring. No matter which way Riku looked, they kept staring at him.

"Firaga," the ten or so spiders Leon had frozen were hit by the large ring of fire, and Riku felt the bile rise in his stomach as they were blown to pieces, some leaving their detached limbs behind.

"Blizzaga," Leon froze the next bunch, and Riku rolled out of the way as another giant creature lunged at him, landing on eight, long, disgusting legs.

The message in his pocket rolled away, escaping through the spiders into a thicket of darkness. Riku's eyes widened at the scratching noises the thin glass made, and he ran for it, only to be surrounded by eight spiders.

"Dark Aura!" Riku shouted, racing past the disgusting creatures for his prize. That letter held the key, he knew it. That letter would lead him to Sora and save Kairi.

Before his eyes, various portals opened up, the bottle rolling precariously towards one of them.

Riku watched as the darkness swallowed the precious message, transporting it to any one of the worlds.

"Shit!" He cursed.

Suddenly, legs latched onto his legs, and fangs brushed the back of his neck, almost tentatively.

Riku immediately went limp, dropping to the ground. His panicked mind screamed at him to struggle, but his instincts told him that it would be over more quickly if he just sat still.

Riku closed his eyes, wondering why after all he'd been through, he was being cut out of the picture by some deformed arachnid. Fate was very cruel indeed.

Then the blood churning melody of a steel blade slicing through thick flesh met his ears, and Riku felt the giant beast collapse besides him, its brethren backing away.

"You okay, kid," Leon asked, and Riku nodded, standing up on a ground stained red, dripping with blood that was not his own.

The remaining spiders glared at him as Riku held his arm out threateningly.

"Dark Aura," he whispered, grimacing as the spiders exploded against the back walls, the few ones left alive retreating into the darkness.

Riku dropped to his knees, staring at his blood red hands. Leon, peeling off his bloody jacket and gloves, towered over him, nearly spotless except for a few stray drops.

Riku peeled off the blood stained, yellow glove on his hand, only to find that the blood had sunk through.

"Is any of that blood yours?" Leon asked, swiping the sword through the air to rid it of the clinging drops of blood.

The thought of his blood mingling with the spiders' blood was disgusting. Would the blood slither into his veins, infecting him?

"No, I don't think so," Riku answered, surprisingly calm. He was covered in spider blood. He hated spiders. "Did you know, when I was younger, I was bitten by some sort of rare, tropical spider?"

He wondered why he was telling this to a stranger, but then again, why shouldn't he?

"I've been scared shitless of them ever since," Riku continued. "No one knows, besides Sora and my dad, and my dad's dead."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he though he saw Leon lift a brow, but apparently it was only his imagination.

Riku turned to Leon, allowing the man to see his face, stained with blood. "I lost the message King Mickey gave us. It vanished through one of the portals."

"Which one?" Leon asked, his voice lined with impatience.

"I don't know," Riku answered.

For a second, Riku thought Leon was going to hit him, that maybe he'd just backhand him. No one had ever done that before, not even Sora, who had sliced him up with a sword. Still, even then he hadn't been covered in this much blood.

"This is disgusting," Riku muttered, running a bloody hand through his bloody hair. He honestly didn't know why he was freaking out, but this cold calm really didn't feel much better.

"Worry about your hair later," Leon muttered. "For now, we have more important things to deal with."

Riku nodded, rising to his feet and following after Leon. He ached all over, and he stumbled slightly, nearly tripping over the large spider carcass beside him.

"So, how are we going to find the message?" Riku asked. Leon sighed, stepping up to one of the portals.

"We'll have to search, one world at a time."

Riku stepped up to the portal, glancing out of the side of his eye at Leon.

"Ready?" He asked. Leon didn't respond, stepping into one of the portals. Riku ran after him.

He didn't want to be alone.


	3. Halloween Town Part 1

-1_"Sora!" Kairi called, running up to the docks where one of her best friends sat, swinging his legs in the calm water as he stared into the deep blue sea._

_It was so like that lazy bum, to sit and enjoy the spray of the sea, rather than coming to study Algerbraic equations with her._

"_Come on Sora!" She giggled, her foot touching the creaky wooden dock. Kairi paused as the ancient wood groaned under her slight weight, her mind momentarily frozen. Sora seemed different, somehow. It wasn't in his posture or his skin tone, or even in his complicated outfit. It just was._

"_Sora," she was only feet from him, but he didn't seem to hear her. Unusual, since Sora's journey's had made him paranoid, and he usually jumped at any soft noises. Once a soldier, always a soldier. Sora had been a soldier, he had been a good soldier, fighting to protect people from the darkness that threatened to engulf them, the darkness of their own hearts._

"_Sora?" She asked, raising her arm towards him. He seemed so small, as if she could crush him in her fist._

_Then she heard the murmurs and the light footsteps around her. The sky darkened, and the sea started to churn slightly, clouds darkening the blue sky._

"_Sora!" Kairi screamed, as the shadows rose from the ground, surrounding the scared red head. She hadn't seen heartless in so long. She had almost forgotten the paralyzing fear that they brought along with them, the fear of death, of nothingness. Inside her, she could feel the part of her which was Naminé, a calm whisper, a comforting smile._

"_Sora!" They came closer, even as Kairi backed away, right into one of the many palm trees on the play island. She remembered gathering coconuts for their journey, watching as Sora hit the tree with his dinky wooden blade, running out of the way as coconuts fell around him. They had been so childish, so untouched, back then._

"_Sora!" Their beady eyes appraised her, and Kairi felt tears leaving her eyes. They were going to kill her and steal her heart. She didn't want that feeling again, the feeling of being suffocated in darkness, thick, smothering, inky black. It was the feeling of being trapped when freedom was inches away, dehydrated when water was but a fingers width from your finger. It watching as your friends fell into darkness and not being able to save them._

_One of the shadow heartless, the kind that Kairi could almost call cute, crawled towards her, tilting its head to the side as if in confusion. Most likely, it was appraising the tiny girl, wondering if she was a serious threat._

"_Sora! Help me! They're going to kill me!" Sora ignored her, staring out into the deep green blue sea. None of the heartless approached him, even as he kicked the waves with his tennis shoes. Why wasn't he helping her? Surely he could hear her? Surely he cared for her enough to help her?_

"_Help me!" Kairi screamed, and there was a loud crack as the ground split beneath her, revealing the fires of Hell. Kairi clung onto her sturdy tree, her nails digging into the bark, cutting open her soft fingers and slicking the trunk with her blood. Did she belong in hell? Was that her punishment for inadvertently separating Sora and Riku those many months ago? _

_Her grip slipped, and then she was falling, into a raging inferno. And she wondered if she would have to burn to death slowly or if she would be instantly incinerated. Tears escaped her eyes, burning tears of rage, fear, and confusion. Why wasn't anybody helping her?_

"_Kairi!" And there was a flash of silver and a large, firm hand grasped hers. Kairi looked up into fearful green eyes and tried to stop her tears from falling. She wasn't weak, she wasn't weak, she wasn't weak…_

"_Riku, don't let me go! I'll die!" She pleaded, grasping his hand with her bloody ones. Riku grabbed her arm, trying to pull her up. Kairi watched as the muscles in his arm strained and he bit his lip. Her hands slid against his, the blood lubricating better than the slickest oil._

"_I won't let you go!" He promised, and Kairi felt herself lift the barest inch as the flames licked at her feet, tasting her. Oh god oh god oh god oh god, she was hanging onto Riku and please let their friendship be enough to leave her hanging there instead of falling into her death._

_Of all the ways to die, by fire, her worst nightmare._

_She could feel the Heartless's beady eyes staring at Riku, but he ignored them, focused on Kairi. He was always focusing on Kairi, always trying to help his friends to atone for sins he never had. He had even changed forms, become the likeliness of the person he hated, just to save them._

_All for her, always for her, he'll never let her go. Because they were best friends, and they would do anything for each other._

_Then suddenly, Riku gasped, his eyes widening and his mouth parting in a silent plea. Behind him, the heartless jerked its claws from the silver haired boy's chest. Kairi's lips parted in a silent scream of disbelief. Riku, strong Riku couldn't die. He couldn't leave her because he couldn't because he said he wouldn't. He said he'd never let her go._

_But spoken promises couldn't defy death._

"_Kairi," Riku whispered, before his eyes closed and his hands loosened, allowing Kairi to fall._

"_Riku!" She screamed, before the fire engulfed her, tearing through her flesh and boiling her blood. It hurt, like nothing she could describe. Kairi had broken bones, fallen from tall places, and lost her heart, but nothing compared to the overwhelming, all consuming Pain running though every nerve in her body, destroying every nerve and burning her into ashes. Then all she could do was let out an ear piercing scream._

Kairi opened her gorgeous violet eyes, sitting up on the warm, comfy mattress. A hand immediately covered her mouth, and tears escaped her eyes as she bit down on the soft flesh to smother the cries.

Sora had just sat there, and Riku had been hurt so badly, and Kairi couldn't do anything about it, and she had fallen and burned to death. She would have burned into a rotted skeleton so badly destroyed that they would have had to identify her by dental records.

Rocking back and forth, Kairi replayed the dream in her head. Riku…

"Are you okay?" A girlish voice suddenly asked, and Kairi focused her teary eyes on a girl a few inches taller than her, with wide gray eyes and cropped black hair. Her tan skin, flat stomach, and muscular disposition automatically caused Kairi to sigh with relief. This girl was one of the warriors who protected Traverse Town from the Heartless.

Yuffie… That was her name right?

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a nightmare," Kairi spoke, giving Yuffie a weak smile. Yeah, a nightmare indeed. Kairi stared at her soft, unblemished hands, wondering how just seconds ago they had been cut and burned to the bone.

"Okay! I thought maybe a heartless had come in and eaten you!" The older girl exclaimed, waving her shuriken around for emphasis.

Getting to her feet, Kairi stumbled and nearly fell as her weak limbs refused to support her. Gosh, how long had she been asleep? Where were Riku, and Sora?

"Careful!" Yuffie warned her, a grin on her face. "You've been asleep for--" she tallied off some numbers on her fingers, her eyebrows knitted in extreme concentration. "Well, I think it's been nearly three days now!" She concluded, nodding.

"Are Riku and Sora here?" Kairi asked hopefully. Obviously, if she were safe and sound here, then Sora and Riku had to have been transported somewhere, right? And what of Selphie, and Tidus and Wakka?

"Um, well that's- Let's see… No." Yuffie finished, averting her eyes.

"Oh," Kairi plopped back onto the bed, gazing at her loose Capris. Wait, wasn't she wearing a dress when the heartless attacked? Kairi fingered the bright pink fabric absentmindedly. It felt exactly like the outfit Sora had worn when he battled the heartless. Kairi sincerely hoped she wasn't wearing a jumper…

Shaking her head, Kairi attempted to focus on her friends, to no avail. It wasn't like she could do anything anyways. She was always the moral support person. She really couldn't fight too well, and then it wasn't like she had a weapon in the first place.

"R-riku…S-S-sora-a…" Kairi whimpered, brushing the tears from her eyes. Her hair had fallen in front of her face, the long, silky red strands obscuring her vision.

"Yuffie! Why didn't you tell us she was awake?" A startled voice asked, and a tall woman with long, gorgeous brown hair ran into the room. The first thing Kairi noticed about her was that she was rather, um… Busty. The second thing she saw, as the woman pushed her back into bed a checked her temperature with a callused hand, was that the woman had kind, experienced eyes that glimmered with a youthful sparkle. They weren't the eyes of a mother, rather they were the eyes of a mature older sister.

"Sorry!" Yuffie whined, bouncing up and down and crossing her arms over her chest.

Kairi almost laughed. Yuffie acted exactly Sora did when she or Riku scolded him for lying out on the beach, or some other beachside atrocity.

"Oh honey, you're crying," immediately, a tissue was dabbing Kairi's wet eyes. Tifa's beautiful gaze met hers, and Kairi couldn't help but give her a small smile.

"You should smile more often," Tifa told her. "It lights up your entire face."

Kairi pushed a lock of red hair behind her ear and smiled at Tifa. Maybe, just maybe, these people could help her find Sora and Riku.

"AHHHHHH!" The three young woman turned towards the door, and Kairi's hand automatically traveled to her heart. For some reason, it burned slightly, and it was beating so loudly she could hear it over the screaming outside.

"The heartless!" Tifa's eyes widened, and she ran out the door, pulling on black leather gloves. Another warrior, bravely defending her home, Kairi thought. These people were so brave.

"Kid, do you know how to fight?" Yuffie asked, pulling out a star shaped shuriken. Her eyes gleamed predatorily, the hunter approaching her prey.

Kairi shook her head, and Yuffie ran to one of the many shelves settled along the dark walls of Merlin's house. Quickly, she pulled out two short staffs, each about the length of Kairi's forearm. Attached to each end was a leather strap.

"Look smart!" Yuffie shouted, tossing Kairi the wooden staffs as the heartless appeared inside the room, climbing through the shadows and creeping along the walls.

Quickly, Kairi wrapped the leather straps around her wrists, holding the two pieces of wood awkwardly. Yuffie's shuriken flew past her, scattering the shadows of defeated heartless.

"Move!" Yuffie shouted.

Kairi jumped to her feet, shaky, underused legs barely supporting her weight. "I don't know how to do this!" Kairi shouted, screaming and hitting one of the heartless with the staff. There was a dull plopping noise, and the heartless flew across the room, temporarily dazed.

Kairi backed away, holding her 'weapons' in front of her. Sure, she had fought in the world that never was, but Riku and Sora had been there, and they always made Kairi feel as if she could do anything. Now, here, alone in a strange room with a girl she knew only through heartless and possessed friends, she didn't feel like fighting. She felt like running back to Destiny Islands and laughing with Selphie as she waited for Sora and Riku to come back to her.

Only, Selphie might be dead, and there might not be any Destiny Islands to return to.

"Well, it's never too late to learn!" Yuffie cheered, swinging around and slicing a heartless in half with a small dagger. She caught her shuriken in a strong, sure hand. "Just hit them until they don't get up again! It's really not that hard!" Yuffie laughed as one of the heartless leapt at her, twisting with a grace that bordered inhuman and slicing through the creature of darkness with her slim dagger.

The heartless continued to encroach upon Kairi, backing her further into the wall, and the girl silently screamed for Sora to help her.

_Sora sat in the calm sea breeze as Kairi fell._

No, Sora couldn't always help her…

"Take this!" Kairi shouted, swinging one of the short staffs and catching the small heartless in the head. The _thing _stumbled backwards, only to meet the pointy end of Yuffie's shuriken.

"Not bad! You were better than the spiky-haired-keyblade-wonder when he first started out," Yuffie reassured her.

Kairi's eyes widened. Her, better than Sora? Remembering the ferocity and grace with which Sora lunged at the heartless, Kairi pictured herself, short, skimpy, and delicate, doing the same thing.

It would feel good, Kairi decided, to be the daring heroine, rather than the damsel in distress.

Backing out of the corner she had made for herself, Kairi swung her staff at another heartless, and before it could strike back she struck it with the other arm. The creature dissipated into darkness, dazzling red heart ascending into the heavens.

"So all I have to do is whack them?" Kairi asked, grabbing the short wooden staffs in white knuckled fingers.

"Yep!" Yuffie threw her shuriken, wiping out six heartless with one strike before catching it again.

"Okay, _I think _I can do that," Kairi said determinedly, her eyes scanning the dark monsters. She was Kairi, Princess of Heart, destroyer of the mold growing in Sora's room, cleanser of Riku's split ends, and protector of All Things Pink and Girly.

…Those heartless never stood a chance.

2222222222

Leon stood wearily, watching Riku as he fell through the portal. His eyes were closed, his head tilted back, exposing a creamy neck. Catching the teen in his arms, Leon started at Riku's change in appearance, almost dropping his self appointed charge.

Riku wore a spiked black collar around his long neck. His torn and bloody shirt had been replaced by a gauzy, black, loose fitting top that was nearly transparent, allowing Leon the faintest glimpse of a lithely muscled torso. The shirt itself had slid up, revealing shimmering pale skin that almost glowed in the darkness that surrounded him.

An unusual piercing, in the shape of a black, upside down cross hung across Riku's flat stomach, its end nearing low cut, black denim Kapris that tore off at the knee, ripped in several places and exposing small glimpses of the boy's muscular legs.

Riku's bare arms and hands ended in black nail polish covered claws, long and deadly. More startling yet was the silky silver tail the protruded from the teenager's lower back, and the pointed ears, tipped in silver fur.

"Urghh…" Leon glanced down at the teen stirring in his arms. Was he a werewolf?

"Am I hallucinating?" Startled aqua orbs, almost unnaturally bright, opened slowly, nearly hidden by long, ragged bangs. Riku's vision seemed to focus, and he gasped, tumbling from Leon's arms and scampering across the ground. The younger teen's silken skin brushed his bare arm, and the brunette couldn't help but notice how soft and smooth it was, despite the battles the other boy had fought.

There was a clink as Riku tripped over the glass bottle they had been searching for, sending it rolling into the drab wall of a surrounding building. It settled against the wall, stuck in a small indent between the building and the street. Loosing his precious balance, Riku's arms wind milled as he tried to stand, his tail sticking up in the air, a sign of panic. The sight would've been hilarious, the calm and arrogant teen panicking, his eyes wide, except for the fact that the ground below them was very hard, and Leon did not want to haul a concussed adolescent around the remainder of this world.

Reaching out an arm, Leon jerked the younger boy forward in an effort to keep him from falling. He tugged too hard, and Riku crashed into his chest, instinctively clutching the older man's shoulders to keep from slipping onto the cold, hard, cobblestone street.

There was a pause, as Leon inhaled Riku's scent, relishing in the smell of exotic fruit, sunblock, and warm weather. The teen's slim form seemed to fit perfectly against his, Riku's head tucked into the curve of his neck, cheek resting on the teen's head. He could feel Riku's slightly accelerated heart beat against his own slow, steady one, and feel an amazing heat resonating from the werewolf.

Riku looked up, his mouth open in what Leon guessed would most likely be a thank you of some sort, when their eyes met, and blue green paralyzed gray in a stunning instant.

Riku's heart beat, which had started to slow, accelerated again, and a faint redness appeared on almost regally high cheek bones, a pouty mouth frozen in motion, plump pink lips slightly parted.

Despite the fact that Leon's mind was urging him to look away, to notice anything besides Riku, his eyes glued themselves to the teen.

"Oooh! Werewolf and Vampy sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G! First came lust, then came bondage, then came-"

"Hey, shut up brats!" An irritated Riku shouted, his face an unmistakable shade of red. The teenager stalked towards them, his tail once again straight up in the air. As he pulled away from Leon, the older man was immediately struck by the loss of warmth, though he had no idea why. The weather was anything but cold here, wherever here was.

"Hey, here it is" One of the evil looking children announced, picking up the fragile bottle in a minuscule hand.

"That's ours," Riku demanded coldly, holding out his hand. He seemed perfectly calm, but from the slight widening of his aqua eyes and the minute twitching of his tail, Leon could sense fear.

Riku was afraid of what might happen. He was afraid that he might lose this bottle, and lose Sora as a result. He was afraid of many things, hidden under the surface, things that he didn't want, but felt he deserved.

"Ummm… No!" The children squealed, turning and running. Riku raced after the children, and Leon followed, a scowl on his face. The alley twisted and turned, and Leon stared at the garish headstones as they wandered through the dark town into the cemetery. From behind the headstones, small heartless glared at them, but for some reason they all stayed away from the two fighters, supposedly content to just watch. Their yellow eyes glowed eerily in the darkness, illuminating their shadowed forms and causing a faint shiver to run through Leon's body.

Their footsteps echoed as they raced through the empty area, the sound of Riku's heavy breathing the only other sound.

"Here ya go!" A high pitched, giggly voice declared. Slowly, a slender, black gloved hand snatched the bottle from the witch child's hand, and as Leon's eyes followed the hand to a dark clad body and hooded face, he couldn't contain the frown that temporarily marred his features.

Riku's reaction was worst, as a growl that matched his current attire erupted from his throat, a symphony of sound in the silent graveyard.

"Give that back," Riku commanded, his voice harsh. Leon stopped suddenly, his hand grasping his gunblade and fingers flexing slowly, silently begging to pull the trigger.

"Haven't you ever heard the expression 'finders keepers, winners losers?'" The woman slipped the bottle into her robe, and it disappeared into black folded depths.

"Haven't you ever heard? I never lose," Riku answered, his tail wrapped around his waist, his expression teasing and sarcastic. In all appearances, the boy seemed to be careless, his arms crossed loosely, hips swung forward in a jaunty, almost flirtatious manner, hair thrown over a shoulder as an afterthought.

Suddenly, their was a prickling, a tension in the air, and Leon felt as if every molecule was energized, standing on end and waiting for that one push…

Riku's eyes darted around, the only sign that he noticed the startling difference before the woman glared. The three children scampered away, vanishing from Leon's sight.

The air grew darker, and the world seemed to fade, the moon losing it's brightness, the gravestones around them a dull, aged gray.

"Well honey, you're in the big leagues now!" The woman hissed, and the air exploded into motion. Leon watched, frozen, as Riku's eyes widened, his arms uncrossing and ready at his side, nails extended, before the very air around them solidified into a gigantic sphere of darkness. The light surrounding them returned immediately, almost blindingly bright compared to the darkness, before the woman slung the energy, directly at Leon.

His eyes widened momentarily, urging his feet to move, but he was surrounded by towering gravestones, thick vines, and gleaming yellow eyes.

"What are you doing? Move!" And suddenly, Leon toppled to his side, a gust of wind so strong it threatened to rip his hair from his head passing less than a foot above him. Long, thin fingers and sharp claws dug into him, cutting through clothes and flesh.

Leon looked up to see Riku slinging to him for dear life, his hair in disarray, silver locks unorganized, falling around his shoulders unevenly.

Heavy footsteps sounded, and Riku had time to let go of Leon before he was slammed into a gravestone, cracking the sturdy stone in several places.

Riku's eyes narrowed into slits, his mouth open in a silent gasp, as he slid down the grave, landing in a boneless pile on the ground.

"Riku!" Before he knew it, Leon stood in front of the teen, his hands holding the glowing gunblade in front of him as if it were some magical barrier that could protect him from the amazing power the female had just exhibited.

"Oh, you plan to stop me?" The voice was sarcastic and arrogant, as if he were a mere parasite.

Leon saw the flash and barely managed to lift his gunblade in time to block the swing of a huge, silver scythe. The woman across from him leant forward, a pair of pale, nearly white lips pulled into a smirk.

Leon was pushing against what felt like a brick wall, his arms trembling slightly from exertion. Whoever this woman was, she was strong as Hell. Pushing with all his might, his knuckles white, the muscles in his arms bulging, Leon pushed the woman backwards swinging his blade down and pulling the trigger with a shaky finger.

A loud shot rang out across the graveyard, and their was a feminine scream as the cloaked figure jerked backwards, dropping her scythe and gripping a bleeding shoulder.

"You bastard," she growled, stumbling backwards. "You'll pay for this. I was going to leave you and your little world alone, but now I'll have my vengeance on you as well as DiZ!"

A dark portal appeared behind her and she disappeared, the only signs that she had been there the devastation she left behind.

"DiZ," Riku whispered, clutching his arm, which was bent at an odd angle. "DiZ is dead. I saw him die with my own two eyes…" There was a pause, and then a "well, kind of. I _was _wearing a blindfold."

Riku attempted to rise to his feet, collapsing, and Leon rushed forward to catch him, his arms aching sharply in protest.

"That's the third time you've caught me today," Riku informed him, a secretive smile flitting across his face.

"You better be careful. I might start to think you like having me in you arms."

And then Riku's weariness caught up to him, and his eyes fluttered closed as he collapsed against the older man, and Leon, unprepared for the sudden increase in weight, felt a sharp, dagger like pain ricochet through his body, before his eyes rolled backwards and he fell to the ground, succumbing to the darkness surrounding him.


	4. Halloween Town Part 2

Yay! Chapter four! Thanks for your patience, and everything, and special thanks to Rosalyn Angel for all the music and the support and for forcing me to finish writing at 1 am.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom hearts.

Warnings: Same as always

_Pain…_

It ricocheted through his arms, across his back and shoulders, spreading like a deadly virus at every movement.

_Sora…_

It was odd, why was he associating Sora with pain? Usually, Sora was (to him at least) everything sparkly and bubbly and bright in the world. DiZ was entirely correct when he said that Sora was far too nice. Determined blue eyes glared at him, a playful pout on a childish face. "I'll beat you next time!" And indeed he did.

_Kairi…_

He felt like he was floating, hanging above his body where only twinges of pain could reach him. Warmth enveloped him, the type of warmth given by someone gathering you up in their arms, reassuring you that everything would be alright, as they rocked you back in forth, into a peaceful oblivion.

_Fear…_

What was he afraid of here, in this floating blue sphere? Maybe he didn't want to reenter his body, because then the pain would return tenfold. He didn't know, it felt odd to feel any emotion, when he was just a floating shell.

Then, a small, plump hand cushioned the back of his head, and his body accepted the dark, free floating spirit back into it's depths. The comforting hand, tilting his head back and dripping small amounts of blissfully hot, cinnamon chocolate liquid down a parched throat faded away, and pain erupted from every part of his body. Every molecule felt as if it were on fire.

Blue green eyes, wide and pained, snapped open, and the hot chocolate fell to the floor, the mug shattering, as Riku sat up, falling off the bed onto the sharp, broken glass.

"Crap," his voice sounded harsh, unused.

Murmuring sounded above him, and two strong hands, thinner and larger than the ones before, lifted him off the scalding liquid, gently setting him on the bed and pulling a sharp shard of glass from a particularly nasty cut.

"_You better be careful. I might think you like having me in your arms."_

"So-ra…" His voice cracked on the second syllable, the high, squeaky sound a reminder of adolescence not so far behind.

"Sleep," the voice sounded calm, unworried, trustworthy, dare Riku think it.

He didn't know who to trust anymore, with all the conflicting sides, all the conflicting people. All he knew was that he wanted to stay with Sora and Kairi.

_A small group of islands, just big enough for the three of them and their adventures. A silver haired villain, a pouting hero, a stubborn princess, all playing together. A darkness, a light, the story of his life, divided between the two._

_Was darkness really so evil? Every light cast a shadow._

Riku's last thought before he fell asleep was that Sora's shadow must be a mile long.

_Go back to sleep._

_Sleep is painless._

_Nah, this seems like a boring place to nap anyways._

Riku couldn't believe that once upon a time he had said that. Now, as he lie here, on the brink of consciousness and sleep, he wished that he had stayed sleeping. Maybe he would have been spared the pain.

Then again, he would never have found Sora and Kairi again.

And he wouldn't have lost them again.

_It's better to have loved and lost than to never loved at all…_

What about to love and loose and still love and find and loose again. Could a heart take that? Could a heart as weak as his take that?

The pudgy hand returned to the back of his head, gently parting dried lips and administering a sweet, tangy liquid with a bitter edge. Elixir. Riku had drank enough of these to know the taste.

_Train harder! Do ever expect to save Sora like that?_

_Embrace the darkness, Riku._

_Revenge…_

Riku's heavy lidded eyes opened slowly, and he blinked quickly to alleviate the pain the light brought.

_You are such a creature of darkness that the light burns you._

_Father?_

Three faces glanced down at him, or, more realistically, two and a half faces, since the third seemed oddly skeletal and therefore did not count as an entire face.

"Santa Claus…?" Riku almost wished he could move his arms to rub his eyes. This had to be some sort of hallucination. There was no way… Santa was just some made up old guy that parents told their kids about to keep said children in line.

"Riku, you should take better care of yourself. If Jack hadn't found you… I swear, if I had a lump of coal for every time you've made a stupid mistake, we could solve the world energy crisis!"

Okay, so Santa had an attitude.

"Now drink!" And pudgy hands shoved the elixir back in his face, and Riku swallowed reflexively, almost flinching at the overwhelming taste.

Slowly, the pain in his arm dulled, and he could almost feel the bone repairing itself. Ah, the elixir, good for anything short of being shot or run through.

"By the way, how is Sora doing?"

There was a silent pause at the skeleton's words. The elixir splashed in its container, dribbling down Riku's chin, along his neck, collecting on the collar of his shirt.

Using his good arm, Riku lightly pushed the elixir away, ducking his head. Long bangs shadowed his eyes, hiding his features from people who Sora had undoubtedly met on his adventures. Sora had so many friends, so many people to care for him. But still, he was taken.

"Actually, that's why we're here," Riku bit his lip, turning his head to the side in shame.

"Sora is missing," Leon's strong, deep voice filled in the gaps.

Riku turned towards the man, startled. Leon had been quiet, so very quiet, that Riku had almost forgotten he was there.

The vampire had his arms folded across his chest revealing white hands and clear fingernails curved into claws. Intense, gray blue eyes, the color of the sky on a rainy day, and just as empty, stared at the red clad old man who had taken them in.

"Sora! Missing!" The skeleton leaped to his feet, creaky joints squeaking, causing Riku to flinch.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

"Santa!"

"Heartless!"

Three pairs of eyes and one pair of empty black sockets turned towards the door leading to the workshop.

Riku's eyes narrowed as he pushed himself to his feet. Almost as soon as his bad arm touched the bed it protested in an aching pain that caused a quiet gasp to escape Riku's lips.

It would seem that he wasn't fully healed.

Leon, who was already half way across the room turned to Riku, his fangs bared menacingly, long black jacket swirling around him at his sudden movement.

"Stay here."

Riku wanted to protest, but he couldn't find the strength to yell, or even to move as Leon raced from the room, shutting the door behind him. The loud noise reverberated through the room, echoing in Riku's head as he sat in bed, the candy cane sheets pooling around his slim waist.

………………….

Falling forward, Kairi jabbed the sharpened end of her staff into one last heartless, watching it disappear with a victorious grin on her face. Landing on weakened, tired legs, Kairi collapsed, her knees cut open on small bits of stone.

"I'm…" Kairi trailed off, heaving in exhaustion. "I'm pooped!"

"Kairi! You okay?" Yuffie ran up to her, shuriken bouncing off a curved hip, a small amount of blood smeared across her forehead.

"I feel good," Kairi smiled. She felt strong. She felt accomplished. Shed felt as if she could do anything and nobody could stop her.

Yuffie laughed, wiping her forehead and smearing the blood even further, revealing a small cut. Clutching her stomach with one hand and banging her thigh with the other, Yuffie laughed loudly.

Using her arms to lift herself slightly, her wooden staffs scraping across the ground, Kairi stared at the older girl.

"What's so funny?" She asked, watching as tears rose to Yuffie's eyes, and quite suddenly she couldn't tell if Yuffie was laughing or smiling.

"Not many people feel 'good' after a heartless attack, Kairi." Suddenly serious gray eyes stared at hers for a second, and Yuffie's endless smile faltered, exposing a scared young woman with the beginnings of worry lines on her face.

Kairi felt like crying. She didn't know why, only that she felt like crying.

"_I know I saw those things turn that way," the little girl announced, holding a stuffed lion to her chest. The goofy looking predator's eyes gleamed in the darkness, as innocent and open as the girl carrying him._

_The little girl turned the corner, and suddenly another pair of eyes gleamed. These eyes were golden._

"_What?" The little girl, instantly struck by fear without knowing why, backed away, her back hitting a stone wall. Frantically, she looked around. She was trapped!_

_The single heartless eyed her hungrily. After all, the more innocent the heart, the better it tasted. _

_Suddenly, the monster lunged, and a childish scream resounded throughout the town. The stuffed lion dropped to the cold, hard ground, abandoned._

_Kairi was surrounded by darkness. Unlike the suffocating darkness, the one that followed the heartless, this darkness felt pure somehow, wrapping itself around her like a silken sheet._

_The darkness soothed her, wiping away the tears she had shed for the little girl._

"_Do not worry, little girl. I will protect you." The voice sounded deep and as silken as the darkness surrounding her._

"_Who are you?" Kairi's voice sounded weak and childish, raspy and tired._

"_I am one who will protect you." The voice promised, in it's silken elegance._

"_Yes, but what is your name?"_

"_Xehanort. What is yours?"_

"_My name is--"_

Kairi awoke with a start, gasping.

"Kairi, you okay?"

Yuffie was on her knees, seemingly ignoring the hard bits of gravel that dug into her slim knees.

"Yeah," Kairi trailed off in silence, violet eyes staring at the run down castle that lie across a giant chasm.

"Kairi?" Yuffie asked, holding the smaller girl up by her shoulders.

"Yuffie, why do we live? Why do we exist if life can end so quickly? What's the point of all this? What comes afterwards?"

Yuffie's face crinkled into a playful frown, and she hit Kairi in the shoulder. "What does it matter?" She asked, laughing. "We're both young! We have years to live!"

Kairi gazed back up at her with large, empty violet eyes.

_That little girl did too…_

…………………………

Riku blinked wearily, tilting his head to the side and staring out of the frost covered window. The reverberating echo of the door had been replaced long ago by the sounds of blades clashing and footsteps rushing to and fro.

The scent of leather and vanilla and cinnamon hot chocolate had been replaced by the sickeningly sweet smell of darkness. Riku's nose crinkled slightly.

Shrugging the covers off, Riku stood, and purple and black dots danced in front of his eyes as a an immense wave of dizziness hit him. He felt like he was spinning, constantly surrounded by the smell of rotting flowers.

_Maleficent hated flowers. All the plants in Hallow Bastion reaked of death in decay, much like the castle itself, with its ancient evils and darkened stain glassed windows._

_Rotted flowers, darkness, Maleficent, Ansem. All of this was synonymous in Riku's mind, one endless cycle of misery._

Grabbing the candy cane bed post for support, Riku lifted his bad arm to his head, the steady pale skin blocking out the spinning room.

Good god, was he so out of shape that a simple injury could prevent him from finding Sora?

_Riku took shallow, uneven puffs of breath. The loud sound blocked out DiZ's footsteps, and his aching lungs sent him falling to his knees, gasping for breath. There was motion in front of him, and Riku scarcely had time to move before he was knocked across the floor._

"_Really, Riku, is that all you can do? Learn to depend less on your sense of sight."_

The first step was always the hardest, he told himself as he moved towards the door, his hand slipping from the candy cane bedpost.

After all, after the first step, your body built up momentum, the pattern of your footsteps became habitual, and suddenly, the path was so easy to follow.

And he would follow this path, Riku decided, as he opened the door. Leon hadn't locked it, not that it would have helped. There were advantages to being a keyblade wielder.

Absentmindedly, as he summoned his blade, feeling the heavy, comforting yet terrifying weight of the blade in his hands, he wondered where this path would take him. Would it lead him to darkness? To light? Or maybe to an end?

Only one thing was for sure. He would do anything if this path led him to Sora.

A familiar smirk touched his lips as he lunged forward into battle, slicing through the shadowy flesh of the heartless. The darker side of him indulged in the pressure against his blade, the feeling of tearing through flesh, and the buzz of energy around him.

_Sora… _He would find him, alive and well. It was only a matter of time.

………………

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" The cloaked figure coughed out, a hand clutching his chest. Slightly wrinkled fingers traced Riku's slim form on the looking glass.

"You're pathetic," the woman replied. She'd crossed her arms over her chest, and suddenly, without her large weapon, she seemed small and delicate.

"Remember, I'm the only reason you're alive today, witch."

The woman snorted, glaring at the man. "If you call what I am alive."

The mysterious man reached into his pocket, pulling out a small glass bottle. The bottle glowed with a strange pink light, illuminating the dark room.

"I hold the other half of what you are right here, my dear. It's funny, that even as such a small, sweet child, your heart contained so much untapped darkness."

"Will both of you shut up!" A voice shouted, and the man turned to glare at the blue eyed boy, tied (they weren't stupid enough to use anything with locks) and bound to the crumbling brick wall.

"Oh! I'm sorry Sora. Would you like us to allow you to watch your friend suffer in peace?"

Sora struggled against his bonds, his eyes watering with anger. It was no use. He felt so weak, and whenever he moved too quickly he became dizzy.

"He's being such a good friend, searching for you all over the worlds. Too bad you're not being a good friend, Sora." The man chuckled, and the woman frowned, her fist clenching.

"First his guilt over his father, then his fear of spiders. What will you tell us next, Sora? Come now, what is his biggest secret? What will cause him to crawl here, begging for mercy?"

The man kneeled in front of his captive, smirking.

"Go to Hell!" Sora spat, turning his head to the side.

"Now, now, such naughty words for such a sweet boy." The man taunted. Behind him, the woman sneered.

"You might as well tell him, Sora," she feigned disinterest, curling up on the stone floor.

At first, Sora had pitied her, a creature forged for darkness, hoping only to earn her light back, but now, now he hated her, just as much as he hated the man in front of him.

"It won't work, what you're doing," Sora insisted, his eyes pleading with the cruel man. "Riku's stronger than that, I know he is."

The man laughed again, throwing his head back and pounding on his knee. A lock of silver hair slipped from his cloak.

"So were you, Sora. So were you."

Sora gritted his teeth against the tears falling from his eyes. He hated them! He hated them more than he'd hated anyone before!

"I'll kill you!" Sora swore, struggling violently.

This time the woman laughed. "You can't kill him, sweetie. Not when you're slowly fading away like me."

…………………

Riku heaved as the last heartless hit the ground. His heart was pounding violently in his chest, _tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump._

"Is everybody okay?" Jack asked, gazing around at the small group. Riku nodded slowly, attempting to catch his breath. His lungs hurt, and pins and needles were running through his legs and arms.

His stomach ached, a loud, churning sound escaping. God, he was hungry.

A warm hand on his shoulder stopped him, and Riku stared up into the cold eyes of Leon.

"I thought I told you to stay in your room."

Riku frowned, staring at his limp arm and long, almost devilish blade. He could barely feel the comforting, heated metal beneath his fingers, the sensation fading as numbness constricted his limbs. His stomach gave another pained gurgle, and bile rose up his throat, threatening to spill from his mouth.

An arm gripped him around his back, warmth infecting his seemingly hallowed and cold stomach. Riku could barely feel Leon's sharp claws as they cut open his skin, the sting of pain replaced by an all encompassing numbness.

His heart was still thumping, pounding in his chest, in his head. _Tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump._

"Riku, when was the last time you had something to eat?"

Leon's voice echoed through his mind, as cold as his fingers and toes. The last time he had eaten? The last time he had eaten?

"_Riku, if you don't hurry up, we'll be late!"_

_Glancing at the clock, Riku's eyes widened, and he hurriedly straightened his tie, making sure his regular clothes were tucked in his book bag._

_There was no time for breakfast! Searching his pockets, Riku realized he had no money for lunch either._

_Well, he'd just have to eat after school._

"_Riku, hurry up!"_

"I had," Riku paused as his stomach seemed to collapse in on itself, an aching mass of emptiness. "I had something to eat the day before Destiny Islands was overrun by heartless."

"What?" Santa's voice interrupted any response Leon might have had.

"There was only one thing stolen," the tiny elf answered, a bandage wrapped around his drooped ear.

"What was it?" Santa asked, an edge of frustration to his voice.

"A stuffed lion," the elf answered, nervously biting a fingernail. His hat was precariously balanced on his small round head, and Riku had the biggest urge to blow it off.

Suddenly, Leon's grip on Riku loosened, and Leon looked up to see the man's eyes widening.

"A stuffed lion?" Leon asked, narrowing his eyes at Santa. The elderly man seemed to shake in his boots from the deadly glare, and Riku gulped. The taller man had no idea how frightening he could look.

_Tha-thump, that-thump, tha-thump._

His heart was beating in his head, aching and echoing, and his stomach was growling.

_A stuffed lion?_

_Tha-thump, tha-thump, _

_Have you eaten?_

_tha-thump, tha-thump…_

And a new sound entered through his ears, a light scampering, and Riku turned, looking back over Leon's leather clad shoulder, his aqua eyes wide.

Golden eyes smirked at him, swirling with the emptiness of darkness, the emptiness of a heartless.

"And here's something for you too, Riku, even though you are probably one of the worst children I've ever met. Honestly, you told both Sora and Kairi that Santa didn't exist."

Riku barely noticed the box Santa slipped into his nearly limp hand, his gaze focused over his shoulder at the deadly shadow.

_Tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump._

The heartless lunged.

_Tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump._

"Look out!" And Riku grabbed Leon around the waist, burying his head in Leon's chest and trying to pull him away, somewhere, anywhere, safe.

_Tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump…_

………………

Slowly, almost like a scared child, Riku lifted his head from Leon's chest. The basement around them was dark and gloomy, and the cold from the stone beneath his cloth wrapped feet startled him.

"Hello?" A startled voice asked them, a voice that Riku remembered too well.

There were seven princesses of heart, seven maidens with pure souls filled completely with light. Seven young women who Maleficent had kidnapped, who Riku had helped Maleficent to kidnap.

"Cinderella?" Riku looked up, straining his eyes to see the woman above him.

"Why yes, that's me. Who are you?" And Riku continued to stare, because instead of the fine gown Cinderella had worn in Hallow Bastion, the beautiful young woman in front of him wore rags, a smudge of charcoal on her cheek, an old cloth holding her hair back.

What had happened to the graceful woman in the glass slippers?

Riku frowned. Just because she was a princess of heart didn't mean she was a princess, but why was she dressed in rags? She looked almost like a slave.

And why didn't she remember him?

Riku couldn't say he was mad about that small fact, but at the same time, he almost wanted her to hate him, to blame him. He had hurt her, used her heart to open a gateway to darkness, and several other unforgivable sins.

Riku's stomach growled again, fiercely, and his nearly numb legs almost gave out, his weakened arms gripping Leon tighter. Almost absentmindedly it seemed, the older man tightened his grip on Riku's waist, stopping Riku from falling to the floor.

"Ohhh! You're hungry! How rude of me! Where are my manners?" The nimble young woman ran down the stairs, gathering something from a broken down, old table.

Riku's mouth watered even as he saw the stale bread and slightly dirty water. His stomach growled even louder, and a small blush graced his high cheekbones.

Cinderella split the bread three ways, handing the two larger chunks to Riku and Leon.

Riku quickly unwrapped his arms from around Leon's torso, grabbing the bread and biting a large chunk of it.

Cinderella giggled at his display, lightly nibbling on her own bread. "You're quite the ravenous one, aren't you?"

Riku smiled a bit, before digging back into his meal. Despite the fact that the bread was hard and as cold as the basement, he swore he had never tasted anything better.

And ravenous one? This woman had obviously never seen Sora eat.

_Sora…_

Riku stopped eating, a crumb tumbling from his mouth.

"I can't accept this," he told Cinderella, handing her the remainder of the bread back and turning his head away. He wondered, if she knew who he was, if she could remember, would she still treat him with this kindness?

"You look half starved," Cinderella closed his hand around the bread, gazing up at him with wide blue eyes.

"Besides, you and your friend eyed it so hungrily, and you're dressed in rags! Honestly, I wish I had more to give you!"

"You could do us a favor," Leon suggested, his deep voice rumbling through his chest.

"Have you seen a glass bottle or a boy named Sora?"

Cinderella's eyes darkened as she focused, a finger tapping her chin lightly. The gesture reminded Riku so much of Kairi that he tensed, nearly crushing Leon in his sudden embrace.

"I can't say I have, but the name Sora sounds so familiar, I just can't place it!"

Riku tensed slightly, perhaps she would remember? Another wave of guilt passed over him, and he bit his lip. She deserved her memories. After all, she was a sweet, pure hearted individual, and he…

Well he was a misguided teenage boy with a dangerous alter ego feeding off the darkness in his heart, waiting for him to weaken so that he might once again take over.

She deserved everything, and he was lucky if he deserved a spot in Hell.

………………

"I brought you a present," the cloaked man told the woman, holding out a small lion plushie.

"Don't you like it?" He smiled as she tightened her grip on her legs, curling into a smaller ball to try and ignore him.

In the background Sora slept, hanging from his bonds.

Suddenly, a scythe shot out from underneath the woman's cloak, and the head of the lion fell to the floor, large, glass eyes peering up at her.

"Unless you have a new mission for me, leave me alone," she told him, getting to her feet and walking over to the keyblade bearer's cage.

"Now now, that's no way to treat your master." The man's hands squeezed the stuffed lion, a small amount of fluff falling from it's headless corpse, floating gently to the stone floor.

"Sorry," she replied, slipping back down against the cold bars and folding her legs underneath her.

"That's better," he told her, his footsteps echoing as he walked away. "And just remember to keep using those powers of yours for just me."

She turned her head away, resting it on the metal behind her.

"What would I use it on? The only thing I want is the only thing I can't have?"

The man didn't seem to hear her. The door to their cage slammed shut loudly, and the woman winced.

The glass eyes of the stuffed lion were the only things to witness the tears dripping from her eyes and splashing on the ground.


End file.
